Apparatus for telegraphically transmitting colored pictures



June 11, 1935. v AHRONHEIMI 2,004,359

APPARATUS FOR TELEGRAPHICALLY TRANSMITTING COLORED PICTURES Original Filed Aug. 7, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTUR WITNES BY 17M 22m YM AITCIRNEYS June 11, 1935. I A. A. AHRONHPEIM 2,004,359

APPARATUS FOR TELEGRAPHICALLY TRANSMITTING COLORED PICTURES Original Filed Aug. '7, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TEIR WITNESS w B A-rrmnunrs Patented June 11, 1935 PATENT OFFICE 1 APPARATUS FOR TELEGRAPHICALLY TRANSMITTING COLORED PICTURES AlbertAlexander Ahronheim, Jackson, Mich; assigner of one-halite William Sparks, Jackson,

Mich.

Original application Augustl, 1930, SerialNo.

473,661. Dividedand this application February 17,1932, Serial No. 593,518 A ,1 Claim. (cans-c) This invention relates to the method and apparatus for telegraphically transmittinggcolors and colored pictures and is a divisional application of my co-pending application, Serial No. 473,661, filed August 7th, 1930.

The main object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus for telegraphically A transmitting different colors and colored pictures by either wire or wireless so that said colors or colored pictures which arepresentat the transmitting station, will be faithfully reproduced at the receiving station.

Asfaras the mere telegraphical transmission of colorsor colored pictures is concerned, this in-, vention is based upon my discovery that it will be p ossible to transmit colors or colored pictures .by de-composingfisaid colors or colored pictures into the spectrum of the respective color and: then transmitting severalportions or bandsof the spectrum. ,When so transmitting'the colors or colored pictures, all those devices maybe used which are ordinarily employed in connection-with television systems for transmitting pictures in general. A J w i According to my invention, I carry out the transmission of colors or colored pictures by decomposing the colors or colored pictures into its spectrum in the transmitting apparatus and more particularly, by throwing said spectrum upona system of selenium cells connected in electric circuits so thatthe group of selenium cells which corresponds to the respective color of thespec- -trum,wil1 close the respective electric circuit. By means of wellsknown auxiliaries such as, for instance, rotatingcontact disks, thecolors at the transmitting station are made to co-operate with proper circuits at the receiving station and to actuate the transmitting apparatus proper. For instance, if it is desired to transmit colors to be solely visible atthe receiving station, the colors maybe caused, to act in such a way upon the receiving apparatus that the respective colors of v a white spectrum, which is drawn upon the replate after having been collectedinto a unitary color, which will then correspond-to the initially ..transmitted color. Onthe other hand,-'if it is desired to fix the transmitted color, at the receiving station, I provide containers with several colors therein, said colors being adapted to give a white spectrum while the current impulses produced at'the receiving station are used for causing color to discharge from thesedcontaihers which on, said surface.

contain the colors forming the spectrum to be transmitted. A A l The colorsldischarging from the several containers. may then be united and mixed with each other toresult into that color which acts upon "5 the transmitting apparatus. Furthermore, if it is desired to transmit not only a single definite color but an entire'colored picture, the latter must be divided into a greater number of :points which are, treated by an opticalpoint-to-point 1 method, and each of the rays resulting therefrom, is tranmitted and faithfully reproduced atthe receiving station.

,At the receiving station,. the colored picture is drawn up in the form of a system of points resulting in a colored picture withv true reproduction of the original colors! A Other. objects and advantages relate, to the details of the structure and the arrangement of the various parts thereof, all as will more fully appearfrom the followingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:-

Figure 1 shows diagrammatically theapparatus forming .part ofa transmitter which serves for 25 sented. in, Figure 1.

Figure3 shows diagrammatically a receiving apparatus which may be used in connection with the transmitting apparatus shown in Figure 1 and which includes means for fixing the color transmitted at the receiving station.

Figure 4 is a detail view showing a color receptacle or container for operating the. colormixing apparatus forming part of Figure 3.: x

Figure 5 is a further detail view showing how said color may be recorded on a paper at the receiving station.

Figures 6 and 7 are detail views showingan electro-magnetically actuated recording mechanism for recording the color on a paper at the receiving station.

Referring now more particularly, the transmitter apparatus shown in Figure 1 comprises 50 a surface I to which the color. to be transmitted is applied and a lamp 2 for illuminatingsaid color The colored rays which emanate from the color on surface l are collected by means of a lens 3 and thrown onto a prism 4,

said rays passing through said prism being decomposed into their spectrum, that is, into the spectrum which corresponds to the respective color to be transmitted.

The spectrum of the respective color is now projected upon a translucent pane or plate 5, and in the rear of this translucent plate is provided a system of radially arranged selenium cells 6 which are connected in electrical circuits, as indicated by the conductors i. The other ends of conductors i lead to contacts S ot a contact disk 9 provided with a rotatable contact lever l0. From contact lever la, a conductor leads to the amplifying and transmitting apparatus i l proper, as indicated in Figure 1.

The conductors whichlead to the other ends of the selenium cells, are likewise connected by Figure 1.

Each contact on the contact disk I4 is connected by means of a conductor to a gas cell IS, the several gas cells being arranged in bands, the number and general arrangement of the gas cells being likewise in exact arrangement with the number and arrangement of the selenium cells 6 shown in Figure 1. A further conductor leads from the gas cells 19 to the receiving and amplifying apparatus l2. 7

A translucent plate I5 is arranged in front of the gascells l9 and a white spectrum is drawn upon plate E5 in a longitudinal direction. Contact lever i3 is rotated in synchronism with contactlever it] with the aid of synchronous driving equipment now well-known to the art.

If a definite color of the spectrum is made to appear on translucent plate 5 which forms part of the transmitting apparatus, a definite group of selenium cells positioned in rear of said plate will be energized, thus causing definite impulses of currentin the amplifying and transmittingapparatus Ii for every position of contact lever ill. These current impulses conducted through the system for the various positions of contact lever 13, will cause corresponding impulses to flow in the respective conductors which lead to gas cells 19 so that a definite group of these cells will be brought to incandescence.

The electrical connections in this case, are so arranged, that just those gas cells will be brought to incandescence which are positioned in the rear of those colors of the spectrum which isprojected onto translucent plate .15, which colors correspond to the band of transmitting spectrum. The colors that are thus produced by action of the incandescence of the gas cells it are collected by prisms i6 and passed through alens system H and projected onto afurth'er translucent plate I8 which will show a color identical to that which is applied to the surface i of the transmitting apparatus.

If it is desired in addition, to render the transmittedcolor visible and at the same time, fix the color at the receiving station, the conductors comapertures 24 of color containers 23, as indicated diagrammatically in Figures 3 and 4.

In this case, the current impulses produced at the receiving station are used for electro-magnetically actuating an aperture as of a color container 23 to an extent depending upon the strength of the respective current impulses. The containers 23 are filledwith colors that correspond to the several bands of the aforementioned white spectrum and the electrical connections in the present case are likewise arranged in such amanner that those containers are opened at a given time which contain the colors corresponding to the respective selenium cells at the receiving station shown in Figure l.

The colors may discharge through apertures 24 of containers 23 into a rotating container 25 in which said colors are collected and mixed. After being mixed in container :25, the colors may be passed ontoa surface 25 consisting of filtering paper.

Figures 5, 6 and 7 show supplementary apparatus necessary at the transmitting station in case a it is desired to transmit not merely a single color but an entire colored picture'with faithful reproduction of all colors.

According to Figure 5, the picture 28 to be transmitted in color, is placed upon a drum 21' and treated by a pointby -point optical contact method. A contact device '29 may be used for this purpose which permits the several rays coining from an individual point of picture 28 to pass through prism A in which the c'oloredray will be decomposed in the usual and well-known manner into a spectrum which maybe transmitted to the transmitter proper as previously described in connection with Figure 1.

For "the reception of a picture of this kind, the conductors which lead to the receiving and amplifying apparatus l2 and to the contactdisk M, as shown in Figure 6, are again connected to color containers which result in a white spectrum in conformity with the position of the selenium cells '6. These color containers are arranged in a manner-similar to the keys of a typewriter and for this particular purpose, may be made in the form of a lever 38, as shown in Figure '7, and arranged in s'tar-shaped'manner with respect to each other.

The conductors coming from the contact disk with the contacts I4 thereon, lead to electromagnets 32, as shown in Figure 7. Armatures 3! of electro-magnets 32 are hinged onto the ends of levers and which serve for the purpose of actuating the respective color containers. The containers are fixed in a position of rest, as shown in Figure 7, by means of springs 33. A drum 35 is arranged centrally with respect tothe containers and which forms a support for the recording paper 36 adapted to receive the'trans- 'mitted picture.

Drum 35 with record paper 36 thereon, is moved forward point by point in accordance with the position of drum 21 which forms part of the transmitting apparatus. Levers 30 are provided at their upper ends with a writing pen 34 directed towards the drum 35 and the record paper thereon which is adapted to apply the color to record paper "36 upon the actuation of lever 30.

In this manner, the colored pictures to be transmitted will appear with a faithful reproduction of all colors point bypoint upon the record paper 36. In order to prevent simultaneous actuation of levers 39, proper locking devices may be used in connection with the levers as is well-known to anyone familiar with the art, so that only the Z scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

Apparatus for telegraphically transmitting and receiving colored pictures comprising, a rotatable drum carrier forsupporting the picture to be transmitted, means for scanning said picture, means for decomposing the scanning light rays thus produced into theirspectrum, a group of photo-electric elements arranged to receive the bands of said spectrum to produce current impulses, a. contact diskhaving a contact connected in circuit with each of said photo-electric elements, a synchronously driven contact arm, means including said contact disk and said arm for successively transmitting said current impulses, means for receiving said current impulses including a rotatable drum carrier for supporting a recording paper, saiddrum carrier being adapted to be moved in synchronism, with said drum carrier at the transmitter, a plurality of type bar actions corresponding in number with the number of photoelectric elements at the transmitter, an electromagnet for actuating each of said type bar actions,

a second contact disk having a contact connected 10 in circuit with each of said electro-magnets, a second contact arm connected in circuit with said receiving means and driven synchronously with said first named arm for successively actuating said type bar actions in accordance with said re- 15 ceived current impulses, a color container associated with each type bar action, each of said color containers having a reservoir and a constricted discharge duct adapted to be brought in contact,

withsaid record paper by its respective type bar 20 action for depositing a color upon the record pa-- per corresponding to the color point being transmitted.

ALBERT ALEXANDER AHRONHEIM. 25 

